It pulls no punches. “We are interested in questions of architecture, race and slavery that he worked with in the Virginia economy,” says Erik Neil, director of the Chrysler Museum.

Included in the exhibition is a varnished walnut door created by African American artisan John Hemings, Jefferson’s slave. He was brother to Sally Hemings, and carpenter and cabinetmaker for much of Poplar Forest, Jefferson’s Bedford County retreat. Also included are a number of artifacts from the nailery at Mulberry Row, the slave quarters at Monticello.

There’s a rich trove of all things architectural. The Palladio Museum will provide 14 models, including 10 newly created models of Jefferson’s buildings and four models displaying the key architecture of Renaissance master Andrea Palladio (1508-1580).

“I talked director-to-director with them and said: ‘Wouldn’t you like to lend them?’” Neil says. “They want their collection better known, and there’s a longstanding relationship between Virginia, U. Va. and the Villa Rotonda.”

The exhibition will feature models of Monticello and Jefferson’s design for the U.S. president’s house (it was not selected) as well as representations of the Pantheon, highlighting its architectural influence on the University of Virginia’s Rotunda. The Chrysler will also display the only autographed drawing by Palladio in an American collection, as well as various editions of his treatise, The Four Books of Architecture.

“Jefferson had an attachment to Palladio early on,” he says. “So this exhibition offers a more nuanced understanding of Jefferson, showing more complexity to his work. And it makes it possible for people to appreciate architecture as one of the great art forms.”

The exhibition opens on Oct. 19 and runs through Jan. 19, 2020. Architects + Artisans is considering a daytrip from Raleigh. Interested? Email me at mike@architectsandartisans.com